Mayonaka Punch

Overall, Mayonaka Punch is a fun watch, but it's nothing extraordinary. The story itself is pretty simple, and the real highlight lies in its comedic moments, which focus on the quirky personalities of the characters. While the drama doesn’t add much depth, it also doesn’t detract from the experience.

One of the standout elements is the opening, which is really catchy and sets a great tone. As for the ending, it wraps things up in a way that makes the journey worthwhile. Its a simple but kinda fun ride, a ride that is focused on this very troubled girl called Masaki, who now fear the simple ... act of showing up in the camera.

Going straight to the point, I should say Masaki (the MC) is a major issue here in narrative terms. On a smaller note, having no episode centered on Tokage was also a let down. However, generally speaking, this is more convincing than P.A.'s other work from the same season—Na Nare Hana Nare—in trying to elicit audience empathy for its theme (in this case, online content creation and its psychosocial challenges), as well as resolving its conflicts more satisfactorily. It also has a more intriguing element of interest (vampires) that was decently implemented and indeed had relevance to the plot. If we note that it’s a ... light-hearted show, its flaws should bother less. The comedy is generally on point and I've quickly become fond of most characters.

The audiovisual aspects greatly enhance this anime’s presentation. This is a case where I’m glad to say no potential was lost (in terms of production), but rather, the direction and craftwork only improve the product. It offers a colorful cast and charming scenarios; an ever fun experience through it’s energetic OST, which, however, does not miss emotional beats; great consistency in character models (that is, aside from various instances of intentional distortion for comedic value); modest but efficient character designs that fairly complement everyone’s dynamic personalities; perfect choices of voice actresses… in short: it’s a blast, and brimming with personality.

I’d also like to mention how there is a thematic contrast behind the story that provides extra meaning for the choice of vampires as a theme (and gets further elucidated when you read the ED’s lyrics). For context, Masaki was butt kicked from her previous group, the “Newtube” channel Hype Sisters, an expulsion first motivated by differences in creative views and adversity between members, then finally due to all of this culminating in her punching a team member on stream. The anime starts from this point and it then explores the development of Masaki, a failed influencer who has now to restart her career with a new project: the titular channel of the show. The world of vampires is dark and, thus, Mayonaka Punch only gets to act in the night. Here, arises the contrast between the world of the living, filled with hostile peeping eyes and too claustrophobic for Masaki to live in, and the world of the undead, who end up sheltering her from all the harm beneath the sunlight. This aspect of theme couldn’t be clearer when, in ep 1, right before falling off the roof of an hospital and almost dying (an incident which one could read as suggestive of suicide, adjusted to a lighter narrative), Masaki laments: “no one needs me”. It is Live, her first vampire friend, who challenges this perception—and she does so in the dead of night.

To speak of the vampires, each of them has some kind of personal conflict (Tokage aside) that eventually gets addressed in dedicated episodes, which you always can expect to end on a good note. Thus, one cannot honestly speak of a sense of dread or anxiety in this show, as it seems to be common with P.A Works’ anime. However, they are indeed abundant in personality and come with various personal quirks: Live is an extraordinarily powerful vampire, but also euphoric fiend obsessed with Masaki’s blood; Ichiko is a hundred years old loli who cares about family and is really good at cooking and tending the house; Fu is an awfully shy individual who carries a hidden talent for singing and a deep past connection with a human friend; and Tokage is a voluptuous ancient vampire with a helpless gambling addiction. Much later in the series, we also get to see more participation from Shigeyuki: like Live, she is a legendary vampire, but also the main frontwoman for “Mother” in the show, thus serving as the physical representation of “limits” to the group. Together, they form a lively cast of memorable characters—even Masaki, whose undeniable presence manifests in her strict, tyrannical behavior and unstoppable ambition for success, as she leads Mayonaka Punch from behind the cameras.

As previously suggested, the fact they are vampires does indeed have a major influence in what happens in the plot at various points: most notably, the very reason why Mayonaka Punch is racing for a million subscribers is due to the threat of forced termination of their channel, were it not to successfully achieve so within 6 months—an ultimatum proclaimed by the mysterious Mother of vampires, whose main concern is keeping these paranormal creatures’ powers hidden, thus preserving harmony with humans. So rather than a repetitive or slow paced story, the anime is actually very creative, not only in its premise but also on the storyboard side of things, offering a good range of situations and setups for each episode (though not quite as much as the OP suggests).

Going off the last mention, the catchy OP does indeed a lot to set up the mood for the show, while the ED captures the emotional nuances that permeate it, represented in great part by the social alienation that Masaki suffers because of the internet's inconsiderate and self-serving judgment in a matter they have little insight on. The degree of effect that social media cancelling has (especially when it breaks through the virtual world, as Masaki gets recognized in public) is shown succinctly and persuasively over the span of the story. But presenting social problems in this light also opens the show for critique, as we must observe if there is a sense of fairness in how it handles its theme.

Is it honest to criticize netizens for judging Masaki with little information when her outburst was so visible and disproportionate? Furthermore, neither Masaki nor the show seem interested in clarifying things or atoning for her actions in a clear manner. We are never given the exact circumstances for her adversity with the Hype Sisters, nor does Masaki’s wrongdoing really get settled right. This is where things can break for a critical viewer, for while Masaki is herself a victim in one aspect, she is also never properly held accountable for her own faults, and in fact continues to display many of her originally flawed traits up to the end of the story. The "Punch" itself continues to be played often as a joke and even goes on to become a positive icon in the series, representative of the whole Mayonaka group. Therefore, the notion of “redemption” here becomes debatable.

In summary, one could say this show has a failed message, but it's carried by all other aspects (animation, art style, music, characters etc.), such that whether or not you can tolerate Masaki as a person becomes the chief factor in determining your experience with it. For what is worth, she can take credit for being a nuanced character who often shows concern for her team members and who struggles with regret and self-worth issues throughout the plot. The drama surrounding the character and how she responds to these things are understandable and often sympathetic, and there is modest growth in the character as she learns to let some things go for the wellness of her friends and herself. Still, her final “apology” is rushed and sandwiched between the beats of action and drama of the final act, on top of having a generalized nature, being directed at various individuals and issues rather than properly addressing each on its own. This further drowns her redemption arc in deep waters of cowardice and self-victimization, as we can expect little learning to be taken forward from all of this development (are you convinced that Masaki will not end up making the same mistakes later down the road? It seems that all that has changed is she found someone who can take her punches). As such, despite the exceptionally fun elements explored in this show, it’s hard to give Mayonaka Punch much credit for how it handles its major character arc. My final judgment of it, in this regard, would lean negatively.

(P.S.: It’s possible to interpret this show’s approach to its theme as more than mere carelessness. If you’re interested, please read my blog post on MyAnimeList about this.)